登陆注册
5220400000015

第15章

'The king of the vipers!'said I,interrupting him;'have the vipers a king?''As sure as we have,'said the old man-'as sure as we have King George to rule over us,have these reptiles a king to rule over them.''And where did you see him?'said I.'I will tell you,'said the old man,'though I don't like talking about the matter.It may be about seven years ago that I happened to be far down yonder to the west,on the other side of England,nearly two hundred miles from here,following my business.It was a very sultry day,I remember,and I had been out several hours catching creatures.It might be about three o'clock in the afternoon,when I found myself on some heathy land near the sea,on the ridge of a hill,the side of which,nearly as far down as the sea,was heath;but on the top there was arable ground,which had been planted,and from which the harvest had been gathered-oats or barley,I know not which-but I remember that the ground was covered with stubble.Well,about three o'clock,as I told you before,what with the heat of the day and from having walked about for hours in a lazy way,I felt very tired;so I determined to have a sleep,and I laid myself down,my head just on the ridge of the hill,towards the field,and my body over the side down amongst the heath;my bag,which was nearly filled with creatures,lay at a little distance from my face;the creatures were struggling in it,Iremember,and I thought to myself,how much more comfortably off Iwas than they;I was taking my ease on the nice open hill,cooled with the breezes,whilst they were in the nasty close bag,coiling about one another,and breaking their very hearts,all to no purpose:and I felt quite comfortable and happy in the thought,and little by little closed my eyes,and fell into the sweetest snooze that ever I was in in all my life;and there I lay over the hill's side,with my head half in the field,I don't know how long,all dead asleep.At last it seemed to me that I heard a noise in my sleep,something like a thing moving,very faint,however,far away;then it died,and then it came again upon my ear as I slept,and now it appeared almost as if I heard crackle,crackle;then it died again,or I became yet more dead asleep than before,I know not which,but I certainly lay some time without hearing it.All of a sudden I became awake,and there was I,on the ridge of the hill,with my cheek on the ground towards the stubble,with a noise in my ear like that of something moving towards me amongst the stubble of the field;well,I lay a moment or two listening to the noise,and then I became frightened,for I did not like the noise at all,it sounded so odd;so I rolled myself on my belly,and looked towards the stubble.Mercy upon us!there was a huge snake,or rather a dreadful viper,for it was all yellow and gold,moving towards me,bearing its head about a foot and a half above the ground,the dry stubble crackling beneath its outrageous belly.It might be about five yards off when I first saw it,making straight towards me,child,as if it would devour me.I lay quite still,for I was stupefied with horror,whilst the creature came still nearer;and now it was nearly upon me,when it suddenly drew back a little,and then-what do you think?-it lifted its head and chest high in the air,and high over my face as I looked up,flickering at me with its tongue as if it would fly at my face.

Child,what I felt at that moment I can scarcely say,but it was a sufficient punishment for all the sins I ever committed;and there we two were,I looking up at the viper,and the viper looking down upon me,flickering at me with its tongue.It was only the kindness of God that saved me:all at once there was a loud noise,the report of a gun,for a fowler was shooting at a covey of birds,a little way off in the stubble.Whereupon the viper sunk its head,and immediately made off over the ridge of the hill,down in the direction of the sea.As it passed by me,however-and it passed close by me-it hesitated a moment,as if it was doubtful whether it should not seize me;it did not,however,but made off down the hill.It has often struck me that he was angry with me,and came upon me unawares for presuming to meddle with his people,as I have always been in the habit of doing.'

'But,'said I,'how do you know that it was the king of the vipers?'

'How do I know!'said the old man,'who else should it be?There was as much difference between it and other reptiles as between King George and other people.'

'Is King George,then,different from other people?'I demanded.

'Of course,'said the old man;'I have never seen him myself,but Ihave heard people say that he is a ten times greater man than other folks;indeed,it stands to reason that he must be different from the rest,else people would not be so eager to see him.Do you think,child,that people would be fools enough to run a matter of twenty or thirty miles to see the king,provided King George-'

'Haven't the French a king?'I demanded.

'Yes,'said the old man,'or something much the same,and a queer one he is;not quite so big as King George,they say,but quite as terrible a fellow.What of him?'

'Suppose he should come to Norman Cross!'

'What should he do at Norman Cross,child?'

'Why,you were talking about the vipers in your bag breaking their hearts,and so on,and their king coming to help them.Now,suppose the French king should hear of his people being in trouble at Norman Cross,and-'

'He can't come,child,'said the old man,rubbing his hands,'the water lies between.The French don't like the water;neither vipers nor Frenchmen take kindly to the water,child.'

When the old man left the country,which he did a few days after the conversation which I have just related,he left me the reptile which he had tamed and rendered quite harmless by removing the fangs.I was in the habit of feeding it with milk,and frequently carried it abroad with me in my walks.

同类推荐
  • 词余丛话

    词余丛话

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 南海宝象林慧弓诇禅师语录

    南海宝象林慧弓诇禅师语录

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 机警

    机警

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 琉璃王经

    琉璃王经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 上清诸真章奏

    上清诸真章奏

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 一生独爱你

    一生独爱你

    冷血、绝情的他,爱妻如命,爱女如痴;他对她们的宠爱,无人不知,无人不晓;只是,几乎没人见过这两位幸福的人;这一切,到底是真是假?突然一天,却又传言他是一个名符其实的黄金单身汉!高贵,有权有势的他立即成了众所追逐的对象;她,一个玩弄金钱的劣质女,整天只知道酒吧、Party的过日子;当他的名声出现在自己耳边时,她当众宣言,一定要让他拜倒在自己的石榴裙下;没人知道她这么做的真正原因,他与她的姐姐关系暧昧不明时,她千般阻挠,万般纠缠,最终,她还是无法阻止他与姐姐的婚礼!【绝对的宠文,别被简介给骗了。】精彩片段一:教堂里,一对新人正接受着神的祝福。“雷欧,你愿意娶司媛为妻吗?”“我,雷欧,无论生老病死,无论贫病,……因为有了你,我才不会枉在人世走上这一遭。”“司媛,你愿意嫁于雷欧为妻吗?”“我愿意。”“我宣布……”本应该就在此时结成夫妇的一对,新郎却说出了这么一番话……“我,雷欧,今生今世只会有一个夫人——雷温妮!”这婚礼,不过是为了让她回到自己身边而已,而其他人,也不过是个陪衬,司家的人、欺负了她的,他一个都不会放过。精彩片段二:一妖冶的女人看着身旁冷酷的男人,心想着如何能留在他身边。“雷总,谢谢您的赏光。”“恩。”冰冷的语气,听不出任何感情,只让人退步三舍。突然。“爹地。”“今天乖不乖?”满脸的宠溺,让人忍不住沉溺于其中。“我很乖的,妮妮想要洗澡澡了,爹地一起!”门外的女人瞠目结舌,这还是那个冷面风霜的男人吗?
  • 重生八零福妻有点甜

    重生八零福妻有点甜

    前世,女儿生死未卜,夫妻相敬如冰,婆婆,算了,不说也罢。重生后。正赶上生孩子的顾海琼只想护住女儿,母女现世安好。八零初。她只想离婚,远离前世那个让她伤心失望到麻木的男人。不再忍让的顾海琼斗婆婆,撕小叔,忿极品,做生意,买房子,养女儿,脚踏实地奔小康。平凡就是福。…………
  • 女尊之落落桃花笑

    女尊之落落桃花笑

    生活在现代的黎小落,在飞机上睡了一觉,莫名其妙就穿越到了女尊王朝,还是一个将军的身份,试问她一个现代女性,怎么在以女子为尊的社会,舞刀弄枪上阵杀敌。她是不能,但别人可以,且看,黎小落如何在女尊王朝慢慢成长收获人心,抱得美人归。
  • 山村鬼娇娘

    山村鬼娇娘

    我的未婚妻紫薇被剥皮之后,就成为了我的鬼娇娘,而爷爷用秘法把她复活之后,她又成为了我的人皮新娘,但是一切都好像变得越来越诡异了......
  • 引阙阁

    引阙阁

    三百年前,一双手刨开泥泞从尸横遍野的死人堆里爬出,遂即周身散出金光飞升成仙,天帝派此人驻守引阙阁,方换来人间太平。某一天的记忆复苏,灭城,剔仙骨,仇恨与痛苦占据心扉,究竟渡人之人,能否渡己。
  • 乙丙之际箸议第九

    乙丙之际箸议第九

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 张伯苓谈教育(名家谈教育)

    张伯苓谈教育(名家谈教育)

    《张伯苓谈教育(名家谈教育)》选取张伯苓谈教育文章48篇,集中体现了张伯苓的教育思想,一些在公众场合的演讲则体现了张伯苓对于教育价值和教育方向的认识。张伯苓(1876—1951),现代教育家。早年入北洋水师学堂,执教于家馆。1904年,赴日考察教育,回国后将家馆改建为私立中学,定名敬业学堂。1907年,在天津城区南部的开洼地,即民间所称“南开”,建成新校舍,遂改称南开中学堂。1917年赴美国,入哥伦比亚大学研究教育,次年回国,着手筹办南开大学。1919年秋正式开学。先后担任校长四十余年。
  • 读史别裁:中国历史文化的关键话题

    读史别裁:中国历史文化的关键话题

    历史是古人活动的舞台,文化则是其中积淀而成的传统。以史为鉴,可知兴替。历史与文化是精神与思想的遗传基因,对现代人具有深刻的影响。在浩如烟海的典籍中找出其本源,揭示中国传统世界的内核,便是别裁。 《读史别裁:中国历史文化的关键话题》作者用现代的理性思维去理解历史上一些典型的事例。对于人们耳熟却并不能详的一些历史故事,书中细致地加以拆分,一步一步进行分析,对于故事的出路或结果,提出多种可能性,然后通过排除法,得出历史自身呈现出来的结论,并分析出为什么只能是这个结果的道理。书中讲的道理,事关价值体系,都是大道理。但不是空洞地讲道理,而是建立在大量的细节描述基础上。
  • 落墨成殇:盲眼绘佳人

    落墨成殇:盲眼绘佳人

    “子墨,我会等你回来,哪怕是一辈子。”“子墨,怎么办!我不想进宫!”“子墨,我爱的人,只有你...”“尹子墨,为了你,我会好好活着,那么,你也要活下去。”他是名扬天下的画师,却画不出心爱女子的面容;他年纪轻轻,便是一头银丝;他耳聋眼盲,却奉旨入宫作画;他遍寻天下,只为记忆中那个明媚的笑容。“凝绾,我不过是一介小小画师,我能做的,便是尽我所能去爱你,护你!”“凝绾,我此生所负,唯有你了!”“凝绾,我该怎么办!”
  • 幸孕鲜妻:老公轻点宠

    幸孕鲜妻:老公轻点宠

    顾夕瑶脸上一僵,她梗着脖子看着季晴那张恶毒的嘴脸,高声道:“季晴,我的孩子当然是秦上宇的!那一晚,她醉得不醒人事,第二日醒来时,身边早已没有了男人的身影,而她一直以为是秦上宇,顾夕瑶脸色惨白,难以相信的紧盯着照片上那张猥琐布满刀疤的脸,一口黄牙像从来没有刷过一般,看着让她恶心得想吐。……病房里容白俊逸的脸上也露出一丝不自然的神色,看着床上睡着了都不安分的女人,“我没有被野男人睡,没有!”野男人?说他?容白看着那只紧抓着他的手,半眯了眯黑眸,危险的气息从他眸底溢出。--情节虚构,请勿模仿